One-Upping Julia: Michel Richard's 'California Ratatouille'

RATATOUILLE, once just a tough word for Americans to pronounce, is now the hippest dish around.

It all started with the Disney movie of that name, in which a kitchen rodent nudges a human to new career highs. Before that, most Americans equated the traditional French dish with soggy eggplant and long hours of dicing and sautéing.

With the opening of the movie Julie & Julia, the veggie classic is once again in the limelight.

Personally, I’m thrilled. That means that now, when guests ask me what I’m making for dinner and I answer “ratatouille,” I no longer get the “say what?” response. By the way, the correct pronunciation is ra-ta-too-ee (unless you’re French, in which case it’s ra-ta-twee, the last syllable spit out with gusto).

I’ve been a huge fan of the dish since the early ‘70s when I learned to make it from Julia’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”  I would dutifully salt the zucchini and eggplant, slice the yellow onions and green bell peppers, and “peel, seed and juice” the tomatoes. After sauteeing each veggie by itself, I’d make three layers of the combo, separated by minced parsley, in a flame-orange Le Creuset dutch oven. The whole process took well over an hour and dirtied a lot of pans, and the cookbook, too.

Then there’s Wolfgang Puck’s ratatouille, served room temperature atop grilled swordfish, which I discovered one sunny afternoon at Ma Maison in Los Angeles.  It was the mid-seventies; Puck wasn’t even 30 years old.  It remains one of the most delicious things I ate in a career of ‘eating for a living.’

But it’s the ratatouille of another come-lately Californian that I cook at home all the time now. French-born Michel Richard, who opened trend-setting Citrus in Los Angeles in 1987 and now operates two award-winning restaurants in Washington, D.C., gives the dish a fresh, sparkling new look and taste. The vegetables – including corn kernels, red bell pepper, jalapeno and Anaheim chiles – are cooked quickly, with far less olive oil than the classic French version. Chili powder and chopped cilantro add an exciting new dimension. A splash of Champagne vinegar further punches up the flavors.

I make a large batch and use in on top of grilled swordfish and chicken breasts, tossed with pasta and buffalo mozzarella cheese, folded into leftover rice for an impromptu ‘risotto,’ and on top of Gruyere omelets.

Here’s the recipe (adapted) from “Michel Richard’s Home Cooking with a French Accent.” The book is available at Amazon.com.

CALIFORNIA RATATOUILLE

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and diced
1 large ear corn, kernels removed
1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
1 poblano or anaheim chili, cored, seeded and minced
1 jalapeno chile, cored, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro
1 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/8-inch pieces
1 medium yellow crookneck squash, ends trimmed, cut into matchsticks to match zucchini
4 medium green onions (white and light green parts only), quartered  lengthwise and cut into ½ inch-pieces
2 medium tomatoes, halved crosswise, seeded and diced
½ cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon Champagne or white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy large nonstick skillet, over medium-low heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until translucent, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn, red pepper, yellow pepper, poblano and jalapeno; increase heat to medium and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, chili powder and cilantro. Stir in the zucchini, yellow squash, green onion and tomatoes. Pour in the tomato juice and vinegar, increase heat to medium-high and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, for about 7  minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cool for 15 to 30 minutes to lukewarm.

Comments

[Kathleen]

Hi Maureen...

Heather would love this dish!! She is a strict vegan so this is right up her ally.

Love Kathleen

[Kathleen]

Oops I meant alley :)